Refrigerator apparatus



Jan. 23, 1968 D. COHEN ETAL 3,364,694

REFRIGERATOR APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORSDAVID COHEN JOHN N. M5 GILL BY //MMWJW KM' ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 23, 1968 D. COHEN ETAL 3,364,594

REFRIGERATOR APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 196e v :s sheets-sheet 2 D. COHENETAL REFRIGERATOR APPARATUS Jan. 23, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 2,1966 United States Patent Oice 3,364,694- Patented Jan. 23, 19683,354,694 REFRIGERATOR APPARATUS David Cohen and John N. Mciii, St.Joseph, Mich., as-

signors to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec.2, 1966, Ser. No. 598,800 2t) Claims. (Ci. 62-265) This inventionrelates to a refrigerator apparatus such as is used for the storage offood.

It is customary in refrigerators particularly of the household type tohave a refrigerated area or space adapted to be maintained at abovefreezing temperatures for the temporary storage of food materials and afreezer space maintained at a sub-freezing temperature for storingfrozen food materials usually for longer periods of time.

One of the features of this invention is to provide a refrigeratorapparatus including a storage compartment having side and bottom wallsin the form of an enclosing hollow jacket together with conduit meansfor directing chilled air from an outlet thereof to the hollow interiorof the jacket for ow of chilled air into the jacket so that materialstored in this compartment will be maintained 4in chilled condition bythe heat conducting walls of the jacket without direct contact of thechilled air with the material.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of such a refrigeratorapparatus having a new and improved hollow jacket construction.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of such arefrigerator apparatus having new and improved means for supporting thestorage compartment for selective connection to and disconnection fromthe chilled air supply.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of such a refrigeratorapparatus having means for closing the outlet from the chilled airsupply upon disconnection of the storage compartment therefrom.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingwherein:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view showing semidiagrammatically arefrigerator apparatus embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the refrigerator apparatus ofFIGURE 1 but with the doors removed.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially along line 3-3 of FIG- URE l.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged plan view of a storage compartment embodying theinvention and adjacent parts of the refrigerator.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 5-5of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view enlarged and lookingsubstantially from the line 6 6 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modified form ofstorage compartment embodying the invention.

FIGURE 8 is a horizontal sectional view of a modified refrigeratorapparatus embodying the invention having means for pivotally supportinga pair of storage compartments for selective connection anddisconnection to the chilled air supply.

FIGURE 9 is a plan view showing semi-diagrammatically a modified form ofrefrigerator apparatus embodying the invention and including means forclosing the outlet upon disconnection of a storage compartment from thechilled air supply.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG- URES 1 through 6 of thedrawings, the refrigerator apparatus 10 includes a cabinet havinginsulated walls 11, 12 and 13 and an interior horizontal Wall or mullion14 dividing the interior into an above freezing refrigerator space 15and a below freezing freezer space 16. Each of these spaces is normallyclosed by a door 17 and 1S, respectively.

Adjacent the rear wall 12 there is provided a chamber 19 in which islocated -a motor driven blower or fan 20. The front or right-hand sideof the fan as viewed in FIG- URE l is the blower inlet while the rear orleft-hand side is the blower outlet.

Leading from the blower outlet side is a first duct means 21 having anexit 22 emptying into the bottom of the freezer space 16. At the top ofthe freezer space, there is provided an access means 23 in the form ofan elongated horizontal opening as shown in FIGURE 2 leading from thefreezer space 16 to the inlet side of the blower 20.

Also leading from the outlet side of the blower 20 is a second ductmeans 24 extending upwardly along the rear wall 12 and having verticallyspaced horizontal exit openings 25 emptying into the top of therefrigerator space 15. In order to return air from the refrigeratorspace 15 to the inlet side of the blower, there is provided a secondaccess means 26 in the form of a short duct leading from adjacent thebottom of the refrigerator space 15 to the inlet or front side of theblower 2d.

In order to chill the air, there is provided sub-freezing refrigeratingmeans which may be a refrigerant evaporator 27 in the first duct means21. This evaporator 27, as illustrated, is a part of a conventionalcompressorcondenser-evaporator type of refrigeration system, certain ofwhose components are concealed in the bottom machine compartment 23.

Positioned in the refrigerator space 15 adjacent the bottom thereof is astorage compartment 29 which is shown in detail in FIGURES 3 through 6inclusive. One or more compartments 29 could be used in the refrigeratedspace 15 for storing either meat or vegetables. As is shown here, thiscompartment which is located within the cabinet 1li is provided withside walls 30 and a bottom wall 31 and an enclosing jacket 32. As isshown in FIGURES 3 and 5, this jacket defines a hollow interior 33substantially coinciding with the side and bottom walls 30 and 31 of thecompartment 29. Weep hole 32a may be provided in the bottom of thejacket 32 for eliminating condensation which may form within the hollowspace 33.

In order to supply chilled air to this hollow interior 33, there isprovided on the outlet or rear side of the blower Ztl an upwardlyextending chilled air outlet 34. This outlet 34 is provided with conduitmeans releasably joining the outlet 34 to the hollow interior 33 of thejacket 32 for flow of the chilled air into and through the jacket. Inthe illustrated embodiment, this releasable conduit means comprises aflanged opening 35 in the front wall 36 of the chilled air outlet 34surrounded by a resilient gasket such as rubber sealing gasket 37. Theanged opening comprises one cooperating section on the conduit meanswhile another cooperating section is a rearwardly extending nozzle 38 onthe rear wall of the jacket 32 of compartment 29. vVhen the compartmentis in normally operating position within the cabinet, the nozzle 33extends into the flanged opening 35 and is sealed thereto by the gasket,all as shown in FIGURE 4. It is, of course, obvious that the nozzle 38instead of being on the compartment could be an extension of the chilledair outlet 34 if desired, and in that situation, the sealed opening 35would then be on the compartment 29.

In order to support the compartment 29 in operating position within therefrigerator cabinet 1u and to permit its withdrawal for loading,unloading and cleaning and reinsertion, the top of the compartment 29 isprovided with an outwardly extending flange 39 at the side thereof whichis slidably supported on downwardly extending parallel side brackets d@which are preferably made of a plastic material and integral with anoverlying shelf 41 also of plastic material. The center of the shelf 41is supported in the customary way by vertical metal posts 42.

Overlying the interior of the compartment 29 is a removable low heatconductive or insulated cover 53. In the illustrated embodiment, thiscover 43 is recessed (FIG- URE 3) or hollow so as to provide a dead airspace 44 and has side flanges 45 overlying and supported by the flanges39 of the compartment 29. With this arrangement both the compartment andcover are movable on the parallel side supporting brackets 4G and oncethe compartment has been withdrawn forwardly, or to the right as shownin FIGURE l, the cover may then be removed to provide access to theinterior of the compartment.

As is shown in FIGURE 4, the chilled air from the outlet 31% in theinsulated rear wall 12 of the refrigerator cabinet enters adjacent onecorner of the generally rectangular illustrated compartment 29.Symmetrically arranged therewith and opposite this chilled air inlet isa chilled air outlet shown most clearly in FIGURE 6. This outlet is inthe form of an opening 46 that may be uncovered to any degree desired asby means of a rotatable valve or shutter 47 which is itself providedwith an opening 48 and a handle 49 for rotating the valve.

When the valve 47 is rotated until the entire exit opening 46 isexposed, flow through the hollow interior 33 of the compartment jacketis at a maximum so that the lowest possible temperature will bemaintained in the interior 59 of the compartment. Then, as the valve 47is rotated to close off greater and greater portions of the exit openingd6, the rate of flow falls and the temperature on the interior Sil isthereby raised. Thus, the compartment 29 may be used for storing manydifferent types of materials at temperatures that are most ideal for thematerials. In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in FIGURE 6, thereare two settings provided with one, 51, being for meat storage when theexit opening 46 is at its Widest and, therefore, the temperature thelowest, and the other, 52, being for vegetables when the opening 46 ispartially closed so that a higher temperature is maintained in thecompartment interior.

The refrigerator apparatus of this invention has a number of veryimportant advantages. Thus, food material stored in the interior of thestorage compartment is kept quite cold because the walls 39 and 31 areconstructed of a heat conducting material so that the chilled air in thehollow spaces 33 chills the food material without coming in Contact withit. This materially reduces moisture loss of the material and, further,any moisture that does evap orate from the material tends to recondenseon the inner surfaces of the walls 30 and 31 so as to be available forrehumidification of the stored material. The temperature within thecompartment 29 has a high degree of uniformity because the side walls 30and bottom wall 31 tend to be chilled to substantially the sametemperature. The preferred structure wherein the inlet to the chilledair space 33 and the outlet therefrom are arranged substantiallysymmetrically opposite each other enhances this uniformity.

Because the chilled air into the spaces 33 surrounding the storageinterior of the compartment 29 is taken substantially directly from thefreezer space 16, the efficiency of chilling is quite high. As is shownin FIGURE l, this chilled air is drawn immediately into the blower 26and is then projected immediately into the air fiow spaces 33 around thecompartment because of the short and direct chilled air outlet conduit34.

The insulated cover 43 across the top of the compartment performsprimarily two very important functions. It

retards the escape of moisture from the compartment during the storageperiod and also insulated against substantial heat losses through thetop of the compartment.

The temperature regulating feature of the valve 47 is of very greatimportance as it permits regulating the ternd perature of the storagecompartment 29 depending upon the demands of the food material beingstored. Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, by merely rotating theshutter of the valve 47 a storage temperature of 28-3l in thecompartment 29 was obtained which is very useful for the storage ofmeat. Then, by turning the shutter of the valve to the position shown inFIGURE 6 to throttle the chilled air flow through the air spaces 33, theternperature of storage was raised to the ideal vegetable storingtemperature of 32-34 F. In both instances, the relative humidity on theinterior of the storage compartment 29 was about 90% which of course isvery eicient in retarding moisture loss from the material being stored.

Turning now to FIGURE 7 of the drawing, a modified form of storagecompartment generally designated 129 is shown to comprise a storagecompartment generally similar to storage compartment 29, but includingan inner receptacle portion 153 having a horizontal bottom wall 154, andan outer enclosure portion 155 having a bottom wall 156 underlyingbottom wall 154 and in facial engagement therewith. Thus, storagecompartment 129 provides a hollow jacket 132 defining a pair of air fiowpaths 132g and 132!) which diverge from the inlet nozzle 138 at the rearthereof to extend around the receptacle 153 to rejoin at the frontopening 146.

Turning now to FIGURE 8, a further modified form of refrigeratorapparatus generally designated 210 is shown to comprise a pair ofstorage compartments 229 generally similar to storage compartment 29,but .having a generally pie-wedge shape in plan View. Each of thestorage compartments is provided with a bracket 257 for pivotallymounting the storage compartment on an upright post 253 within therefrigerator space 215. A chilled air outlet 234 is provided with aT-shaped end portion 259 defining a pair of oppositely opening tubularconnectors 260 and 261. In the retracted position of the storagecompartments 229 as shown in FIGURE 8, the projecting connectors 269 and261 extend sealingly into corresponding openings 22 and 263 of therespective storage compartments.

Thus, when it is desired to have access to either of the storagecompartments 229, the user merely need swing the selected compartmentoutwardly of the pivot post 25S such as to the dotted line position ofthe right-hand storage compartment, as shown in FIGURE 8. The brackets257 and pivot post 258 cooperatively define means for guiding therespective storage compartments back into the retracted position whereinthe respective storage compartments are in joined connection associationwith the outlet 234.

Turning now to FIGURE 9, a further modified form of refrigeratingapparatus generally designated 316 is shown to include a plurality ofstorage compartments 329. The connection flange 339 of each of thestorage compartments is arranged to be selectively connected to amanifold 363 arranged to receive the chilled air from a suitable forcedair supply generally designated 354. Each of the outlet openings 335 ofthe manifold 363 is provided with a suitable check valve such as flapvalve 336 provided with suitable biasing means 337 for biasing the valveto the closed position when the storage compartment 329 is disconnectedfrom the outlet opening 335. Thus, where the storage compartments 329are disposed in a nonrefrigerated space, the chilled air is effectivelyprevented from being spilled into the ambient atmosphere when thestorage compartments are disconnected from the manifold 363.

The structures of the modified embodiment of the invention disclosed inFIGURES 7 through 9 are similar to the structure of the form shown inFIGURES 1 through 6, except where otherwise noted. Elements of the em- Ybodiment of FIGURE 7 similar to those of FIGURES l through 6 areidentified by similar reference numerals but one hundred higher;elements of the embodiment of FIGURE 8 are identified `by referencenumerals two hundred higher; and elements of the embodiment of PIG- URE9 are identified by reference numerals three hundred higher.

Having described our invention as related to the embodiments shown inthe accompanying drawings, it is our intention that the invention be notlimited by any of the details of description, unless otherwisespecified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scopeas set out in the accompanying claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. Refrigerating apparatus, comprising: means defining a source ofchilled air having an outlet; means defining a storage compartmenthaving boundary walls in the form of a hollow jacket; and

connection means releasably joining said outlet to said hollow jacketfor flow of said chilled air from said source into said jacket.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said storage compartment is providedwith supporting means permitting ready removal of the compartment fromsaid apparatus and an insulated releasable cover removable with thecompartment.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said connection means comprisescooperating sections at said outlet and on said jacket releasable onsaid removing of said compartment and means for rejoining said sectionson return of said compartment to its operating position.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein outlet means are provided from saidjacket spaced from said connection means for iiow of air from saidjacket.

S. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said jacketed boundary walls includeside and bottom walls, and said connection means and said outlet meansare located on opposite sides of said jacket so that the chilled airflows around said side and bottom walls prior to exit through saidoutlet means.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein outlet means are provided from saidjacket spaced from said connection means for ow of air from said jacket,said outlet means having valve means for regulating volume ow of airthrough said outlet means and thus through said jacket.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said boundary walls comprise a pairof walls having confronting portions in facial engagement.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hollow jacket defines aplurality of separate flow paths diverging from said connection means.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein outlet means are provided from saidhollow jacket spaced from said connection means for flow of air fromsaid hollow jacket, said hollow jacket defining a plurality of separateflow paths diverging from said connection means to said outlet means.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for pivotally supportingsaid storage compartment means.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein means are provided for movablysupporting said storage compartment means and including means forguiding said storage compartment means into joined connectionassociation with said outlet in one position of support.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for selectively closingsaid outlet.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 including valve means closing said outletwhen said hollow jacket is disjoined from said outlet.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a valve member forclosing said outlet, means for biasing said valve member to said outlet.

15. Refrigerator apparatus, comprising:

a cabinet having means defining a storage space;

wall means defining a source of chilled air having an outlet at one sideof said storage space;

means defining a storage compartment having side and bottom walls in theform of an enclosing hollow jacket and positioned in said storage space;

conduit 4means releasably joining said outlet to said hollow jacket forflow of said chilled air from said space into said jacket; and

outlet means from said jacket spaced from said conduit means for flow ofair from said jacket into said storage space.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said storage compartment isprovided with supporting means permitting ready removal of thecompartment from said apparatus and an insulated releasable coverremovable with the compartment, said conduit means comprises cooperatingsections at said outlet and on said jacket releasable on said removingof said compartment and means for rejoining said sections on return ofsaid compartment to its operating position, and said outlet means havingvalve means for regulating volume iiow of air through said outlet meansand thus through said jacket.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said conduit means and outletmeans are substantially symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of saidcompartment.

18. Refrigerator apparatus, comprising:

a cabinet having wall means defining an above freezing refrigeratorspace and a below freezing freezer space;

a storage compartment in said cabinet adjacent said refrigerator spacehaving side and bottom walls in the form of an enclosing hollow jacket;

an air circulating blower chamber means adjacent said wall means;

an air circulating blower in said chamber means having an inlet and anoutlet;

first duct means from said blower outlet to said freezer space;

subfreezing refrigerating means in heat exchange relationship with saidfirst duct means for chilling the air owing therein to subfreezingtemperatures;

access means from said freezer space to said blower inlet;

second duct means from said blower outlet to said refrigerator space;

second access means from said refrigerator space to said blower inlet;

means forming a chilled air outlet from said blower;

conduit means releasably joining said chilled air outlet to said hollowjacket for flow of said chilled air from said source into said jacket;and

jacket outlet means spaced from said conduit means for flow of air fromsaid jacket into said refrigerator space.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said storage compartment isprovided with supporting means permitting ready removal of thecompartment from said apparatus and an insulated releasable coverremovable with the compartment, said conduit means comprises cooperatingsections at said outlet and on said jacket releasable on said removingof said compartment and means for rejoining said sections on return ofsaid compartment to its operating Iposition, said outlet means havingvalve means for regulating volume flow of air through said outlet meansand thus through said jacket, and said conduit means and outlet meansare substantially symmetrically arranged on opposite sides of saidcompartment.

2t). The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said blower is located adjacentsaid freezer space to receive chilled air substantially directlytherefrom, and said compartment jacket is adjacent said blower toreceive chilled air substantially directly therefrom.

(References on fellowing page) 7 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,180,974 11/1939 Atchison 62-405 2,960,849 11/1960 OConnell 62-4192,975,619 3/1961 Saunders 62-419 WILLIAM I. WYE, Prima/'y Examiner.

1. REFRIGERATING APPARATUS, COMPRISING: MEANS DEFINING A SOURCE OFCHILLED AIR HAVING AN OUTLET; MEANS DEFINING A STORAGE COMPARTMENTHAVING BOUNDARY WALLS IN THE FORM OF A HOLLOW JACKET; AND